Apparatus for the manufacture of expanded metal



Dec, 6, 1932. H. K. BAKER APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF EXPANDED METAL Original Filed April 19.1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 Y 3 WM M m w m/ m nan Mm H. K. BAKER 1,890,276

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF EXPANDED METAL Dec. 6, 1932.

Original Filed April 19. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ,4 M00 ATTORNEY;

Dec.-6, 1932. BAKER 1,890,276

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF EXPANDED METAL Original Filed April 19, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 j AZ 4:5

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56 Z4 Z8" Z5 I I I I INVENTOR ATTORNEY5 Patented Dec. 6, 1932 p i I i r I stares earaisrossica HERBERT K. BAKER; F nnrnorr, MICHIGAN APPARATUS Foe THE MANUFACTURE oF'riXPANDEn ErAi."

Original application filed. April 19, 1929 Seria1 No. 356,331, Divided and'this application .filed May 21,

' r Serial No. 533,92 r

This invention relates to the manufacture Fig.6 is atopplan view of agroup ofthe of expanded metal and has particular referslitting punches mounted in the'lower press ence to the slitting and forming of blanks :member; v j 1 for expansion. Fig. 6a is a view of a group of theupper vention include increasingthe economy with illustrated in Fig. v.6, the view being similan respect to the time and materials employed to'Fig. 6, but taken as; indicated by theline in producing lath, increasing the life of the 6a6a of Fig. v I slitting mechanism and simplifying the con- Figs. '7 and 8 arefside and cutting edge character. 1 I

More specifically I contemplate the use of her; I I I V dies or punches of twoor more times the Figs 9 and 10 are similar views ofo-nej'of. 7 Width of the strands to be produced in the the slitting pun'ches mountedin ;the**lower lath and thus provide punches of greater press member;' r 1 65,.

strength and durability and permit the Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate" details of the strands of the lath to be made of smaller spacing'members employed betweencert'ain J width. b Themetal employed in producing a of the punches; and} p I givensize expanded sheet is thus materially Figs. 13 and 14 areface andsectional yi'ews reduced. "respectively of my improv'ed partiallyjslit- .70

I also contemplate the use of a single set ted and formed blank, the latter being taken of slitting punches in operating more than substantially as indicated by the line I l-#14:, once on a given area of a'bla-nlr in order to on Fig. 13. i A V produce spaced and staggered slits therein. Referring now more particularly to the My invention also utilizes sets'of forming drawings the upper and lower press mem- 75 dies mounted to reciprocate'in the same press bers areindicated by the reference characters members with the slittin punches and there- 15 and 16 respectively, the upper 0116, 15, of by form ribs or grooves in the blanks which Which is. mounted to'reciplfocate on the Verare configured and arranged to facilitate .ticalguide'shaf s 17 whic'h are arranged at punches mounted in the upper pressYinenn,

51 1 Generally considered the'objects of the inpunches adapted to cooperate with the group 10 struction and operation of apparatus of this views respectively of one-of the islitting 30 opening out of the sheet during the expand the O S ep eSS- 30 ing operation, V Upper and lower slittingdies or punches 'Howithe foregoing together with otherv 18'and19 are mounted in the press members objects and advantages are obtained willfbe 15' and 16 respectively, th Sets fo each of clear from a consideration of the following he press members being adjustably. sup- V 35 description taken with the. accompanying, Ported in their oper tive p sit n y m n drawings which illustrate the preferred em-' of the cooperating wedges 20 and 2 Which bodiment of the invention and in' which re mo nted in recesses extending transverse Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the recipro- 1y of the press. Adjusting bolts 22' are procating press mechanism of the present inven- Vifil d at he nds of the W dges i O r't-Q tion taken from its feeding side; I raise Q p s l d Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View taken Wedge blocks 29 with' adjusting bolts 30 as indicated by the line 2 2 of Fig, 1; serve to secure the wedges 20 andY'21 in ad- Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the lower press j l ed PO t n. i v member, certain of the parts being broken The punches 19 0f the lower presS m- 4.) away in order to show the mounting of the her 16 (see Fig. 3) arearranged in groups punches therein; p spaced from each other and overlying the. Elg i 1s an enlarged sectional view taken wedges 20 and 21, the groups being mounted I as indicated by the line 4: of Fig. 3; in their spaced relation by means of the Fig. 5 is a view similar toFig. ibut taken holder member 23 having apertures adapted as indicated by the line 55of Fig. 3; to receive the groups. As will be seen from V inspectionof Figures 3, 5, 6 and 9 to 12, each group of punches which is associated with the lower press member16 comprises a pair of slitting punches 19 arranged on each side of a central wedge=like punch 24, those on opposite sides being oppositelyangledor in-v clined with respect to the direction of feed thru the apparatus. Spacing members 25 are provided between the-cuttersor punches'19 which are provided with lugs 26 adapted to overlie and engage 'c'o-operating "shoulders provided on opposite sides'of the apertures formed in the slitting punch holdenmember 23. Each group when assembled and pos :ti:oned'.in;its aperture .in the ;member 23 1s :rigld-ly secured ingplace by means ofthead- V Adjusting bolts 33 are also provided in this justingbolt 27, the same being threaded into ian sadge of :the member '23 and bearing -:against the large edgejof the wedgeeutter 9- a The slittin'g' punch hol der member 231$ secured in'position by mcansofathe bolts .28 which-rare tapped into the press member 16 at spaced; intervals son either side of the .wedges :20 and 21. I v The slitting punches associated withthe wupper :press 'member 15 v are-arranged in groups'which are complementary to those secured in the lower press member and are secured ?in position by means of a slitting :punch l'holderi3 l which, in all essential respects, is identical with}the" member 23 associated with the lower groups. :Each group sin the upper set holwever, comprises a wedge ,instancein :order to secure the groups of wedges 18 in their operative position and it inighthere be noted-that .the upper slitting- "punches 18 are provided withidouble tapered cutting surfaces 34 in order to reduce distortion .in slitting the blanks (see Figs. 2, 7 :and.8.).. 7 Upper and lower strip per plates .35 and 36 :respectively havingopenin'gs adapted-to pass Jthe punches in the 'upperand lower groups are resiliently supported on each ofthe press -members by means iof'the springs '37 as most clearly illustrated .in Figs. 1 and 2. The .stripperplates are restrained as against'outward movement with respect to the present members. with which; they :are associated by .means fv the .brackets 38 which are suitably .bolted .to thepress members and which are provided with lugs 39 which engage over cooperating shoulders formed at the cut-out i and 3).

corners of the plates 35 and 36. (see Figs. 7

Beyond the slitting mechanism with re- .spect to the direction of feed thru the apparatus I'have provided co operating-upper and lower swaging or forming dies indicated in general by the reference characters 40.and'.41"respectively in Figs. 2 and 4. The dies are provided with co operating working surfacest2, 43-and-44, 45 which are adapted toproduce alternate rounded and angled grooves orribs respectively,'eXtending longitudinally of the blanks, the same being arranged .to project on opposite sides. That .is, all the rounded grooves .pr Ject on one .sl deof ,theiblanks while the angledgrooves project on the other. The "forming dies and-e1 .are preferably made sections or pieces (see.Figs.Q3 and 4) and are suitably-" secured to .the. press memberslby means of theibolts 46. n J V "Stops .47 and .48are secured to the upper .and lower press members 15 and16 respectively. 'Thelower stops48inaybeprovidedm' 1 with an adjusting mechanism indicated at 49 in A'in order that the stroke o'f the reciprocating press member 15 may be .suit- .ablylimite "Referring nowtojFigs. .13 land 14' in con-' nection with the others, particularly Nos. 4, .6 and 6a -it should .be observed, to begin with, that the.generaltypeoflath which -the apparatus is particularly'adapted to produce; is, what is commonly referred to.as"high rib 1 lath, i. e. .a lath having relatively deep ribs between the expanded areas in order to give the sheet rigidity, in contradistinc- .tion .to what is commonly termed flat rib vlath which has relatively shallowfbeads betweenthe expanded :areas. Thus, it will 'be observed, that ztheggroups of slitting punches according tov myLinvention are relatively Fig. 13 for the purpose of providingsufiicientmetalbetween the slitted areas'for folding up into the relatively high ribs by a subsequent expanding operation.

In connection wlth the operation of the apparatus, reference should first be niade to Figs. 6 and 6a which clearly illustrate how .thecutting e'dgesgof the upperand lowerslitting punches 18.and 19 respectively, cooperate when the upper press member descends to produce the groups OfzSlltS across the blanks.

widely spaced in order to leave the relative-1 ly broad unslitted areas 'indicatedat 5 0 in Theslits:producedby.onestroke of-the press are indicated at S at the top ofFig. 13. Beforethersecond stroke of the press the blank is advanced by the feeding mechanism (not herein described.) a distance just .a little greater than half of the. length of 'the, slit- 5 ting edges of the punches {.18 and 19. The

second stroke of the press produces the slits indicated by the character S and it should be noted that the slitting punches are angled longitudinally of the sheet to an extent which causes the overlappingsets of slits to fall mid-way between those produced by each immediately preceding operation. The slitting is carried out in the above manner throughout'the entire length of the sheet and it should be observed that on the third operation or stroke of the press, the slits S which are produced, fall in alignment with successively swage the sheet to produce the I rounded beads B in the relatively wide unslitted areas and the angled grooves G in the narrow unslitted strips extending between the reversely inclined slits of each group. The arrangement and configuration to being indicated-by the reference numeral 51. It is also to be observed at thispoint that the angled grooves G which are centered onthe relatively narrow unslitted strips 51 are of suiiicient width to take in or include a portion of the slitted area at each side. The legs of the grooves Gr preferably extend approximately at right angles to each other. The beads B and the grooves G are arranged 1 and configured as indicated in order to facilitate subsequent preopening and expanding operations such asare disclosed in my copending application, Serial Number ,643,

filed April 24, 1929.

The following advantages should be noted in connection with my improved apparatus for preparing blanks for, expanding puroses: Firstly, the arrangement and 'method' of operating the slitting punches, including the angular dispositionof the punches and the mannerof feed of the blanks therethrough,

permit the use of relatively thick and therefore rugged punches in producing a lath having strands of a given width. To be more exact the slitting punches are approximately double the width ofthe strands to be produced thereby. This feature is particularly advantageous, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, in view of the fact that considerable difficulty has been en countered heretofore in providing punches, for lath having relatively narrow or even average strands, which would not rupture or warp after a relatively short period of'use.

Very narrow punches-"obviously, are not 3 satisfactory from acommercial'or practical standpoint for the reason that,even if made of the finest steel, they are too thin and weak to hold up-under the heavy strains to;

which they are subjected";

Secondly, and as acorollary to theadvan' tage just noted, the double width punches and the method ofoperating the same permit the manufacture of lath having narrower strands than was possible heretofore, with the :result that considerable material may be saved in the manufacture of an expanded sheet of given dimensions. This efiects a very material economy in certain of the fields in which metal lathis used which do not require aparticularly heavy finished product although it is to be understood that such lath, when the unslitted areas 50 are suitably folded or rolled into relatively deep ribs, has sufficient rigidity and strength for 'all normaluses. Thirdly, the blanksproduced by'the meth- 0d and apparatus disclosed herein are ribbed I in such a manner as to greatly-facilitate a subsequent expanding operation by areduc tion in 'thestrains to which the strands are subjected during the expanding.

oftlie unslitted areas and ribs will be clear from inspection of Figs. 13 and 14, the rem; tively narrow unslitted strips just referred rugged, but also easily accessible for' purposes of inspection or repair. i

.:While ,I have described my invention in connection with the particular embodiment illustrated in the drawings, I do not wish to limit myself-to the exact number and arrangement of punches and forming dies in view of the fact that these may be altered somewhatwithout departing fromthe jspirit'or scope of the invention. a

' Thisapplication is a division of my copendingapplication Serial Number 356,331,

filledApril 19th, 1929.

What I claim is: v 1. In apparatus of the characterdescribed the combination of a press-member,a slitting punch holdenm'ember associated therewith I and a group, of slitting-punches m'ountedin said holder 'member, saidgroup including inclined. punches and a combined punch and securing member for the group. a

I 2. In apparatus of the character described the combination of a press member, a slitting punch holder member associated therewith anda group of slitting punches mounted in said holder member, said group including in 'clined punches and a combined punch and securing member of wedgedike configuration positioned'between the inclined punches. i

3.. In apparatus of the character described the combination of a press member, a slitting punch holder member associated therewith and a group of slitting punches mounted in saidholder member, said group includinginclmed punches and a combined punchsecuring member of wedge-like.- configuration positioned betwentheiinclined punches, together with means reactingagainst: said last men tioned member: to secure the same and the punches in the holdermember. I

,4. In apparatus for slitting metal blanks" .forexpansion into stranded lath, the combination of a press member, a .slittingpunch holder member and. a-

group' of slitting punches mounted in the holder member, the punches of the group being positioned in alignment transversely of'the apparatus with their cutting edges inclined with respect to the, direction ,of" feed of the blanks through the apparatus,- the Width of the said punches being greater than that of the strands of the, lath :to' be produced, together with means for feeding the blanks step by step, each step being of a distance le'sstha-n the'length of the slitsproduced.

; In apparatus for slitting metal blanks forexpansion into stranded lath the combia nation of apress member, a slitting-punch holder member associated therewith, agroup of spaced slitting punches mounted in the holder member and.v arranged in reversely inclined formation with-respect to the direction of feedfthrough the apparatus, with a wedge between those inclined in each direction for securing the,- parts in operative position, said punches being positioned in alignment transversely of the apparatus.

1 V Y 6.- In; apparatus for slitting metal'blanks for expansion into-stranded lath the combination of a press member, atslitting punch holder; member associated therewith,'a group of spaced slitting punches mounted in the holder member [and arranged in reversely inclined formation with respect to the direc tion of feed through the apparatus, with a i wedge between those inclined in each; direc- "the lath to be producedtion for secu-ringthe parts in operative positron, said punches being positioned in al1gn ment transversely of the apparatus, together with means associated withithe holder member for tightening said wedge.

7,. ,Apparatusfor slitting metal blanks for expansion into stranded lath including a slitting punch having a working'surface with parallelcutting edges spaced ,aparta distance greater than the width of the strands in S. Apparatus for slitting metal blanks for expansion into stranded'lath including a slitting punch of wedge-like formation providing relatively inclined cutting edges and.par-. iallel sided punches. having cutting edges at.

. each side thereof. disposed on either side of the punch first mentioned thoseon each side I being arranged with their cuttingedges parallel tothe adjacent inclined cutting edge of said wedge-like punch. a r

' 9. Apparatus for slitting metalblanks for expansion into stranded lath includinga slit ting; punch of wedge-like formation provid- Income being arranged in alignment transverselyfo'f.

the apparatus.

10. Apparatus for slitting metal blanksfor expansion into stranded lath including a slittingpunch of wedge-likev formation providing relatively inclined cutting edges and par} allel sided puncheshaving cuttingedges at each side thereof disposed on either side of the punch first mentionedthose on each. side being arranged with their cutting edges parallel to the adjacent inclined cuttingedgeof said Wedge-like-punch and all of said punches being arranged in alignment andside by side transversely of the apparatuswith their cutting edges inclined with respect to the dire'o tion of feed through the apparatus. j

11. In apparatus for slitting metallic blanks to form lathing having strands ofJa predetermined width, a, pair of cooperating press elements; groups. of slitting punches mounted inthe press elements, the punchesof each group being spaced from eachother a distance greater than said predetermined width, each punch being provided with a pair of spacedand parallel cutting edges, and

the punches in the cooperating press elements being so relatively disposed as'to interleave upon actuation thereof; and means for feed= ingblanks through the apparatus in step by step fashion,the length of each feed step beingless than the length of any slit produced.

12. In. apparatus for slitting metallic blanks. to form lathing having strands of a predetermined width, a pair of cooperating press elements groups of slitting punches mounted in the press ele'ments, the punches Y of each group being'spaced from. each other ;a distance greater than said predetermined width, eachpunch being provided witha pair of spaced and parallel cutting edges inclined with respect to the direction of feed through the apparatus, and, the punches in the coop.-

erating press elements being so relatively dis: posed as to interleave upon actuation there'- of; and means for feeding blanks'through the apparatus in stepby step fashion. the length of each feed step'being ,less' than the length of any slit produced.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my. name, g 5 V Y Y HERBERT K. BAKER.

CERTIFIGATE 0F CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,890,276. December 6, 1932.

HERBERT K. BAKER.

It is hereby certified than. error iiilpfiai'S in the primed specification of the absve mzmbera paieaii requiring cones-{i011 as fsiiows: Page 3, line 130, claim 3, after "puncii insert the word "and"; and that the said Leii'ers Paiem ,shnuld be read with this correction therein (ha! the same may confer m to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 28th day 0f February, A. D. i933.

M. J. Moore, (Sea!) Acting Csmmissioner 0f Paients. 

